


Among the Stars

by starknadke



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Canon Disabled Character, Colleagues to Friends, Friends to Lovers, Gen, M/M, More Tags as Story Develops, Slow Burn, probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-25 17:35:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20915927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starknadke/pseuds/starknadke
Summary: Geordi is assigned to the USS Enterprise. He meets an android named Data. The rest, as we know, is history.





	1. Chapter 1

All Geordi wanted to do was sleep. He had a headache, which was pretty typical -a side effect of his Visual Instrument and Sensory Organ Replacement, or VISOR- and the tiredness was the tiredness one would expect after a long couple of days of travel. First a starliner from Earth, where he had visited his sister, Ariana, who had recently married a transportation engineer based there, and now, the commuter shuttle from Deneb II to Farpoint Station on Deneb IV. 

He had just been reassigned from the USS Hood to the Federation's flagship -the USS Enterprise-D. He was excited, and he was nervous, and he was grateful to have been given an extra week of leave to travel to and attend his sister's festivities. It had been good to be at home, in Mogadishu, eating his aunt's famous bariis, visiting the centuries old masjid, and it was the first time his whole family had been together in who knows how many years. And with his parents illustrious Starfleet careers, who knew when -and if- they'd ever all be together again. So Geordi had eaten his weight in jalaato and baklava, posed for many a family picture, and relished every moment with his feet on solid -home- ground. Excited as he was for the next step in his Starfleet career (and as proud as he was to hear his mom tell many an aunty about his illustrious posting as a remarkably young engineer), he had known to cherish every last moment at home.

By the time his visit was over, he had felt the itch to get back on a ship, get back to work (get back away from the questions of 'met anyone? dating?'), sure, but he may have also shed a tear when he hugged his sister goodbye. 

Travelling in between appointments meant, barring emergency orders, he would be travelling as a civilian. And boy, was he tired of being in civilian's clothes, lugging his personals around unfamiliar ships. There was a certain thrill to it, sure -Geordi loved all kinds of ships, and little commuter shuttles like these were no exception- but he was also getting tired of having to be so attentive, so alert, and sharing space with so many unfamiliar people. He didn't feel comfortable removing his VISOR and taking a nap on this tiny vessel with no private quarters and filled to the brim with tourists and merchants and even -he had seen them board- two Calrissian chameleons and one person with a case of (contained) mudflies, as they travelled to to what was literally referred by many in Starfleet to as "the farthest base on the farthest edge of the galaxy."

He'd be there soon, he reminded himself, as he leaned his head against the window beside him. The vibrations from the pane -set to some classical music, no doubt from some Bandi musicians- transformed the signal he was getting from his visor. The figures of the room blurred with the waves of the music.

Geordi found himself reach for his necklace. His parents had gifted it to him upon his acceptance to Starfleet, and the pendant was embossed with af-Soomaali Braille - on one side, it read "the heart / at home", on the other side, it read "among the stars." 

Soon, he reminded himself, he'd have his own quarters. Soon he'd be back in his uniform. Soon he'd know those around him, and his role in relation to those around him. Soon enough, he'd be on a starship again.


	2. Chapter 2

There was something strange going on at Farpoint Station, and so, the transition to the Enterprise was unusual as well. Typically, when a ship as grand an new as the Enterprise-D departed from a Federation Base, there was a celebratory welcome event, and ranking officers had various welcome meetings with security and upper command personnel. Granted, the ship had first launched with a partial crew and had first left from Yorktown, where it had been built, but the crew was considered complete at Farpoint, and so the official launch was considered to be at Farpoint, too.

But because of the strange goings-on, the personnel who had been waiting for the ship to arrive were told to remain alert and consider themselves unofficially on duty even before moving to the ship. They would be relocated in small batches, on an as-needed and as-available basis. Commander Riker had organized a small get-to-know event before the ship had arrived, and so Geordi had become acquainted with Dr. Crusher, who was to be the chief medical examiner on the ship -and who he had an appointment with once they had both settled in-, as well as her son Wesley, and ensign in engineering named Aved, and a botanist named Keiko.

As much as it was kind of fun to operate under slightly more casual parameters, it was also unsettling -in a similar way that the starbase's seeming ability to fulfil every want, while helpful, was also somewhat suspicious. Of course, the latter was the reason for the former.

It actually took Geordi by surprise when, while working the comms at Farpoint, he got word that the ship was arriving, and Captain's orders to alert Commander Riker.

He found the commander in the Bardun mall.

"Sir, the Enterprise is arriving, but-"

Riker's posture changed, and he turned to Geordi with a different energy -one Geordi hadn't seen since weeks ago, when they were still aboard the USS Hood.

"Is this an official report, Lieutenant?"

The Enterprise was arriving. That meant -Geordi now straightened his position- they were officially back in business. "Sorry Commander," he said. "Sir, Lieutenant LaForge reporting the Enterprise arriving, but without the saucer section, sir."

"Stardrive section only? What happened?"

"I don't know, sir. Captain Picard has signaled for you to beam up immediately."

"Our new Captain doesn't waste time," Riker said. "It's a good idea. Thank you, Lieutenant."

"Aye, sir," Geordi said, and stood alert as Riker beamed up.

His own alert came that night. After the ship had reconnected with its saucer section, he had received a confidential transmission alerting him to the broad strokes -he was only a junior grad lieutenant, after all- of what had caused the ship's delay and the change in typical flagship-launch procedure.

He had then spent the rest of the day alerting various crewmembers that it was their turn to beam up, and helping resolve an issue beaming up personal effects from certain rooms in the hostel. There was some kind of energy field -Geordi couldn't identify it's origin- interfering with rooms in one region of the hostel. With the help of Geordi, who could detect the approximate frequency range of the electromagnetic interference just from his visor, the problem was quickly bypassed, but it had been a strange quandry nonetheless.

When he was finally called to the ship, he was surprised firstly at the lateness of the call, and secondly, after a day of sending small groups at a time, he was surprised to be transferring by himself.

"Welcome aboard Starship Enterprise, Lieutenant."

It took Geordi a moment to regain his bearings. Firstly, because the transporter was the most efficient Geordi had experienced, which made the process a lot smoother while also being a somewhat novel sensation. Secondly, because he hadn't been expecting the opps crewmember who greeted him to be so -Geordi felt corny even as he thought it- beautiful. The officer had a certain glow -reminiscent of something metallic, but in particular Cobalt compounds, which Geordi liked for their particularly vibrant glow- then it hit Geordi. The officer was an android. 

"Are you alright, Lieutenant?"

Geordi straightened. 

"Apologies. LaForge, G.E., reporting as ordered, sir."


End file.
